After a number of weeks being tested in the Overwatch PTR, Blizzard looks set to release the 1.12 update today, bringing with it a number of significant hero and gameplay changes, not to mention a brand new map.

The game will release the Horizon Lunar Colony map later today after a long series of tests on the games PTR.

In terms of a release time, Blizzard updates tend to go live at around 6pm UK time so Overwatch fans are just hours away from the big update dropping.

“Built as a first step towards humanity's renewed exploration of space, the Horizon Lunar Colony’s goal was to examine the effects of prolonged extraterrestrial habitation—on human and ape alike.

“The scientists’ research proved incredibly promising...until, suddenly, all contact and communications with the base were lost.”

However, as mentioned it's not all about the new map and Overwatch players can expect some rather BIG changes to some of the games most beloved characters.

BLIZZARD

Overwatch Horizon Lunar Colony COUNTDOWN: Release date, time for map and character update?

Overwatch Horizon Lunar Colony New Map Preview

The official Overwatch Horizon Lunar Colony New Map Preview from Blizzard

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OVERWATCH CHARACTER CHANGES

Blizzard are making some significant changes to Roadhog, Reaper and McCree with the new update, aimed at rebalancing them following tests in the PTR. Below, Blizzard explains exactly what's changing:

Roadhog

“Roadhog’s head was abnormally large compared to similarly-sized characters, so we’re reducing its size to increase his survivability. The Scrap Gun changes reduce the power of his hook combo and alternate fire burst damage potential while still keeping his DPS roughly the same.”

Reaper

“Reaper’s old healing passive was useful if you could kill a bunch of enemies in a row. But since enemies needed to be dead for it to work, it wasn’t very helpful unless the situation was already in your favor. His new passive lets him get immediate benefit from it, especially when fighting Tank heroes, which tend to be larger targets that deal lower damage.”

McCree

McCree’s ultimate can deal a lot of damage if it has a lot of time to build up, but it was often too difficult to get even a small amount of damage out before being stopped or killed. These changes make it more flexible and powerful”

There's also some rumours swirling that the game could also introduce a brand new character named Hammond, who up until now has been teased leading up to the release of the map.

The trailer and general map teasers put out ahead of the release of this new space map hinted at a significant new character, linked to Winston.

According to the Daily Express, references to a small Gorilla named "Hammond" has been spotted in recent Blizzard updates.

Talking about the new map and its content, Kaplan told fans recently: “You’ll even pick up on some names and some potential mysteries of some of Winston’s peers.

“Some of the other Gorillas that were also part of the Horizon experiment.”

There's been no concrete mention if a new hero is being released, however, it's been known that Blizzard has been working on the next character for some time.

And speaking recently to The Daily Express, Overwatch director Jeff Kaplan previously told the site, that the team was "very far along with hero number 25".